We Tested BillyBox and Gennai on the Same Gmail Inbox. The Results Were Dramatic.

The Results: March 2026

Why Such a Big Difference?

The gap comes down to how each platform processes emails. Gennai primarily looks at direct PDF attachments. If your invoice comes as a portal link, a scanned image, or a payment notification in the email body — Gennai misses it.

BillyBox takes a much more aggressive approach:

• PDF and XML attachments — standard detection, both platforms do this
• Scanned images (JPG, PNG) — AI-powered OCR for photographed or scanned receipts
• Portal downloads — when the email contains an invoice link (not an attachment), BillyBox downloads it automatically
• PDF generation from email body — for payment notifications without attachments (Stripe, Runpod, etc.), BillyBox generates a PDF from the email content
• Advanced MIME analysis — detects hidden attachments that email clients don't show

Pricing: Credits vs Unlimited

Gennai runs on a credit system. Their Starter plan ($12/month) gives you 75 invoices per month. If you have more, you pay more. Growth ($29/month) offers 250.

BillyBox has no credits. The free plan gives you 2 months, paid plans unlock all months — but there is no per-invoice limit. The 80 documents found in March 2026 cost nothing extra. On Gennai, you would have exceeded the Starter limit after the first week.

Classification: Manual vs Intuitive

Gennai requires you to go through each invoice and manually tag it with custom labels. Flexible, but slow.

BillyBox simplifies this with three clear categories: Business, Personal, and Ignored. On desktop, press B, P, or I. On mobile, swipe. 80 invoices classified in under 5 minutes.

Export: What Your Accountant Gets

BillyBox exports an organized ZIP with separate folders for business and personal, plus a CSV summary with all extracted data. Gennai offers CSV export and Xero/QuickBooks sync.

If you work with an accountant who wants a sorted folder of invoices — BillyBox is built exactly for that. If you need direct Xero integration — Gennai is better suited.

Conclusion

Both tools have their place. Gennai is a solid platform for enterprise teams with ERP integration needs. But if you are a freelancer, sole proprietor, or small business and you want to extract all invoices from email without missing any — the difference is clear.

FAQ